Improvement in bridle-winkers



UNITED STATES PATENT Orrron JOSEPH OOGAN, OF CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS.

IMPROVEMENT IN BRlDLE-WINKERS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 157,314, dated December 1, 1874 application filed September 8, 1874.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, J OSEPH GOGAN, of Cambridge, inthe county of Middlesex and State of Massachusetts, have invented an Improved Blinder for Horses; and I do hereby declare My improvements appertain to that class of blinders in which a thin iron strengthenin g-plate is inclosed within the sheets of leather which form the exterior of the blinders.

Heretofore the metal plate at that edge which is adjacent to the strap reached only to, or nearly to, the edge of the strap, leaving a weak connection of leather only at the line of connection, which, by wear and handling, causes the blinder to swing in or close upon the horses eyes.

The object of my invention is to construct the parts so as to have no such weak line of connection, and to strengthen the whole, and also to brace and fortify the blinder at the angle which it makes with the strap, whereby the strap is prevented from twisting off at that point, and the blinder is prevented from being torted or twisted from the strap; and to this end my improvements consist, primarily, in making the iron plate broad enough to lap a portion of the breadth of the strap, and in riveting it firmly thereto, and also in employing a strip of metal outside and lengthwise of the strap, extending below the angle where the blinder at its lower edge meets the strap, and serving rigidly to brace the same.

Figure 1 is a front view, and Fig. 2 a sect on, of a blinder and strap made in accordance with my invention.

A is the blinder; B, the' strap, beneath which the edge of the metal plate incased in the blinder is secured by the rivets a a at. These rivets pass through the outer metal strip 0, and also through the layers b b of the saving labor and expense in the manufacture of the blinder. Screws, eyelets, or any equivalent fastenings may be used instead of the plain rivets, provided they are adapted to clinch on the under side of the strap.

The outside metal strip 0, as will be seen, extends some distance below or beyond the blinder, and is also firmly riveted or fastened below it. From this feature it will be evident that the strap is stiffened, and cannot be bent, twisted, or wrenched at or near the angle 0?, where the blinder and strap join, and it is therefore preserved from destruction at that. point which is usually the weakest one. This strip 0 may be made of any metal desired, and either plain or ornamental, and in all cases, besides its value as a means of strength, it adds much to the beauty and finish of the completed blinder.

I claim 1. The blinder described, having one edge of the leather-covered metal plate inclosed between the straps, and secured thereto by rivets or their equivalents passing thFough the plate and through the straps, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

2. In combination with a blind'er and the strap to which it is connected, the outer bracing metal strip (1, extending and secured below the angle of the junction of the blinder and strap, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

JOSEPH OOGAN.

Witnesses:

M. W. FROTHINGHAM, S. B. KIDDER. 

